Community Revitalization Desktop Guide

new theater. Our cities were built well before the car, yet with available land, a town can offer modern parking options and maintain its classic look. Similarly, by offering transit, cities and towns can reinforce their accessibility and attractiveness, particularly at a time when Americans are seeking to limit their energy use. 28 Households that live within a short distance from jobs, schools and shopping save 5-10% of their income that would otherwise need to be spent on transportation. 29 This is in part why Emerging Trends in Real Estate rated “transit adjacency” as its top location criterion for real estate investments.30 retirees Choose College Towns: College towns are a favorite retirement choice for baby boomers who want to live close to cultural, educational and recreational opportunities. Boomers seek condos and smaller, lowmaintenance homes close to campus. More than 60 universities across the country are associated with retirement communities.33 The local availability of adequate health care services is another key factor in retirees’ choice of community.34 Baby boomers, “not yet of retirement age, but with children grown up, . . . see the city as the place where they want to grow old, and they are making the move as part of a future retirement plan. They are wooed not only by the city’s cultural attractions, but also by lower property taxes, better public transportation, a highly accessible health care system and the chance to be closer to city-dwelling children.” – William H. Frey, a demographer with the Brookings Institution and the Mortgage Bankers Association. relatively Affordable Housing: Housing values near to key East Coast job clusters have grown enormously in the past decade. A band of counties with median single family home values exceeding $150,000 extends from Washington D.C. and its suburbs all the way up “Everyone wants to return and since we have had so many leave, we have a big line to come back.” – LINDA THOMPSON, PrESIDENT, JOHNSTOWN ArEA rEGIONAL INDUSTrIES (JArI) the East coast to Boston and its suburbs. As a result, Pennsylvania has an opportunity to capitalize on its current low housing costs to attract new business and residents.36 Pennsylvania’s relatively low housing prices (median housing value of $97,000) are gaining notice and attracting new residents from New York, New Jersey and Maryland. Diversity and Tolerance: Americans repeatedly say that they want to live in diverse, tolerant places with low entry barriers for people – places where newcomers are accepted quickly. They want to meet and socialize with people unlike themselves, hear different kinds of music and try different kinds of food. 37 Many of Pennsylvania’s communities have seen a recent influx of new immigrants of different races and backgrounds, helping to create the more diverse places that many Americans seek. Immigrants bring other advantages as well. Immigrants fix up and fill vacant homes, boost local businesses and become successful entrepreneurs. In fact, up to one quarter of Silicon Valley firms were established by immigrants and immigrants are much more likely to be self-employed than native-born Americans.38 While immigrant firms are usually quite small and tend to employ coethnics and family, as a group they are sufficiently powerful to have revitalized many neighborhoods, particularly in hard-hit urban areas.39 route 6, Smethport (McKean County) 17 GOAL ONE: CHOOSE ONE ASSET-RICH REDEvELOpmENT AREA step two : capitalize on changing demographics and trends

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Community Revitalization Desktop Guide

PA Community Revitalization Desktop Guide Table of Contents How To Attract High Impact Investment to Core Communities Goal One: Choose One Asset-Rich Redevelopment Area Interviews with Pennsylvania Mayors Goal Two: Prepare Redevelopment Area for Market Interviews with Developers who Have Invested in Pennsylvania Cities and Towns Goal Three: Welcome Investment Interviews with Developers who Have Invested in Pennsylvania Cities and Towns Goal Four: Apply Strategies That Work Conclusion

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